For the 9 of you who voted boy, good job! We just opened our Christmas envelope to find those words waiting for us this morning and we couldn't be happier. Wait until you see the beautiful blue sweater Claire knitted for him already. I can't wait to post pictures when we get home from the trip! Merry Christmas everyone!!! ;)

Jay and I have the "big" ultrasound on Monday morning and we have decided to ask the doctor to keep the sex of the baby a secret, just for a few days. Our plan is to get them to put it in an envelope for us to open on Christmas day. I think it will such a wonderful surprise for us on Christmas morning and we can't wait to find out if we are having a son or a daughter!

A lot of people have asked me if I have a feeling one way or another and I honestly don't have a clue. So, what do YOU think I am having, is it a boy or a girl? Cast your vote today in my poll at the top right corner of this page.

I promise to post results as soon as we get back from Christmas vacation!!

On Saturday, Bill, Amy, Jackie, Jamie and I all ran the annual Jingle Bell 5K Run in downtown Raleigh. The best part of this race is that it didn't start until 10:30am so it wasn't as frigid cold as I had expected it to be. The course was great, mainly sticking to Hillsborough St., and a 5K felt really fast after my 11K Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day!

Here are some photos courtesy of Jamie and her sweet new camera. Congrats to all the race finishers! And also a special thanks to Kathleen for being my official jacket holder while Jay slept in!

For Thanksgiving, Jay and I flew out to fabulous Las Vegas to visit my parents...well, Boulder City to be exact. Check out the view from their backyard, how cool is this?!

My Mom even has two orange trees growing in her yard that had lots of yummy ripe oranges on them. Lucky!

Throughout my parents' neighborhood there are tons of these "watch for sheep" signs. A herd of big horned sheep live up on the mountain behind the neighborhood and every afternoon they make their way down to the playground to munch on some grass and drink some water. Naturally, we had to swing by and check them out.

They'll let you get pretty close if you look nice!

The night before Thanksgiving we all went to a show, "V", at the Planet Hollywood casino on the strip. It was an awesome variety show with all kinds of crazy acts, including this guy: Fast Wally.

We had all kinds of wholesome food like wings, onion rings, burgers and fries at a restaurant the Magnificent Mile shops before the show. Jay enjoyed his one pound double cheeseburger.

Thanksgiving morning, we all got up early and headed down the street to the Hacienda casino so I could run the Boulder City Turkey Trot 11K race. Mom and Jay walked me down to the start line and hung out with me until the race started.

The runners are off!

I think I can, I think I can!

And Jay came back to watch me finish. Here I come around the last bend.

I finished in about 1 hour and 19 minutes, not too bad. And you can start to see the makings of a baby bump in this picture, along with my sweet finisher's medal.

After the race, Jay and I walked back up to the casino to meet Mom & Dad who you can see hitting the penny slots in this photo. We all had a yummy breakfast buffet and then went home to put the turkey in the oven. Dinner was so delicious! I only wish I could have smuggled some of Mom's stuffing home with me. Since we were limited to carry on luggage for this trip, the packing got interesting, but we made it home with all of our stuff, even after hitting the Black Friday sales on the way to the airport. When it comes to shopping and packing I guess we are pros!

The weekend before Thanksgiving Tera, Andrew and I packed up and headed to Charlotte to help Courtney's mom host her first baby shower. It was a great party and a great weekend, and with 5 girls staying at Courtney's parents' house, we had a virtual slumber party going on. Andrew didn't seem to mind hanging with the ladies, but Berry got out of there as quick as he could Saturday morning!

Courtney's bump has really popped out in the month since I had last seen her, as you will see in the pictures below. And Panda got some great loot! That little girl is going to be the best dressed kid on the block. So long as she agrees to put her arms in her sleeves.

It is hard to imagine that the next time I will see Courtney, she'll have a baby. I still can't believe it! It has been so wonderful and special to share this time with such a treasured friend.

Courtney,You are going to be a great Mommy, and I can't wait to meet your little girl! Love you to pieces!